Harvey Keitel is suing financial services company E*Trade for dropping him from a new advertising campaign.
The actor, best known for roles in Pulp Fiction and Bad Lieutenant, was offered $1.5m (£950,000) to head up a set of three commercials for the company, but was later told the campaign was “moving in a different direction” and his services were no longer required. Keitel is claiming that E*Trade is in breach of contract and says the $150,000 termination fee they offered him isn’t enough.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Keitel has filed a suit for the $1.5m fee, plus interest. In his legal documents, the actor said: “By offering a ‘kill fee’, E*Trade acknowledged and admitted that it had an existing, binding and enforceable contract with Mr Keitel.”
Keitel wasn’t the company’s first choice for the campaign. E*Trade made him an offer after Christopher Walken turned down the gig. But they reportedly had a change of heart and made one more appeal to Walken, who again said no. Keitel was once again offered the role, but two days after he accepted the deal, E*Trade told him he was no longer needed. Ultimately, their celebrity product hawker ended up being Kevin Spacey, who starred in ads such as the one below.
Keitel previously headed the Direct Line ads in the UK. He will next be seen in Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth and the Indian drama Gandhi of the Month.
